The temptation is to dwell on the frailties of the Australians, which have been highlighted with such piercing clarity by England's tourists: the toothless pace attack (except in Perth), the fast-fading middle order, the barmy selections. But this would be to belittle England's achievements over here.

Whenever the England side have been in the east of this vast country, they have out-bowled, out-batted and out-fielded their opponents as well as out-thought them. Somehow it all went awry when in the west. The victories in Adelaide and Melbourne have been of copybook quality, as stress-free as any wins can be. The Australians are now in disarray and the nation is stunned at the ineptitude of their cricketers and their selectors.

This represents some achievement for the mild-mannered Andrew Strauss and his men. Before the tour the bookies, who are usually right, had the Australians as favourites. Maybe that was because they are such avid students of history.

England had been thrashed on the last five tours of this country and they had only left these shores in possession of the Ashes on four occasions since the second world war. Now the victorious Middlesex captains outnumber the Yorkshiremen. In 1954-55 Len Hutton overcame a traumatic defeat in Brisbane. He dropped Alec Bedser – in a manner that the ECB personnel department would not advise – kept his faith in the young fast bowler Frank Tyson and the Ashes were secured in Adelaide.

Raymond Illingworth was hoisted to the skies in 1971 after the most arduous of tours. He had not quite seen eye-to-eye with the management from early on in the tour. David Clark from Kent, appointed as manager in the expectation that he would dovetail swimmingly with Colin Cowdrey, who ended up as vice-captain, expressed the notion he would rather England lose 3-1, than win 1-0. Brighter cricket and all that. Illingworth took a different view. So did a gritty band of players, who won 2-0. His key batsman was Geoffrey Boycott and his match-winning bowler John Snow.

Now to the Middlesex men. Mike Brearley in 1978-79 made the most of a vibrant young England team and a Packered Australia. The home side were thrashed 5-1, which must have speeded up the end of hostilities between Kerry Packer and the Australian authorities.

In 1986-87 Mike Gatting chose the right time to record his two Test victories as an England captain. Better to do that in Brisbane and Melbourne than in any other corner of the old empire. On that tour Chris Broad was England's Alastair Cook, even though he could not prolong his international career for much longer. But for a last-ditch victory in Sydney, Allan Border would either have been sacked or would have resigned. Instead he grumpily led the renaissance of Australian cricket, which lasted, well, almost until yesterday.

Australia have been fading. It is impossible to lose so many brilliant cricketers simultaneously and maintain standards. But after the Melbourne defeat it is official: they are rudderless and among the also-rans.

So where does that leave England? There cannot have been a more disciplined, well-drilled team sent by England to Australia in the history of the game. Admittedly these are modern virtues, but the planning, the fitness regime and the single-mindedness of Strauss' team have been way beyond anything that the Australians have managed in this campaign.

In the last decade England have faltered in Australia for two reasons: the excellence of the opposition but also because of their inability to cope with everything Australian: the heat, the massive grounds, which used to expose lumbering old fieldsmen, the abuse, which just might be construed as friendly, from everyone from the customs officer on entry to the occupants of the old Hill in Sydney or Bay 13 in Melbourne.

England tourists have often felt constantly battered in a tough, sport-obsessed nation. And they have wilted. Yet Strauss's team has coped with all of that with ease. Admittedly on this tour the Aussie roar might have emanated from the lion in the Wizard of Oz

Behind the scenes Andy Flower, the bowling coach, David Saker, whose experience here has been invaluable, and the fielding coach, Richard Halsall, must have done a brilliant job because what we have seen from the players in two Test matches has been well-nigh perfect. England's fielding has been quite brilliant and has resulted in critical run-outs and the odd breathtaking catch.

Kevin Pietersen apart, the durable technicians rather than the dashers have scored the runs; Cook and Jonathan Trott just kept on batting. Meanwhile, whispering Jimmy Anderson has been the best pace bowler in the country, while Graeme Swann is obviously the best spinner.

It may sound sacrilegious to the old-timers but these men now deserve a mention alongside Tyson and Compton, Boycott and Snow, Gower and Botham, Gatting and Broad. They have joined a very select band.